University of Memphis Athletics
Mott Receives C-USA Spirit of Service Award
Jun 14, 2011 | Softball
June 14, 2011
Complete Spirit of Service Release 
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky announced the 12 student-athletes that will receive the C-USA Spring Spirit of Service Award, with softball player Heather Mott earning the honor for the University of Memphis.
The C-USA Spirit of Service Award is designed to recognize the community service efforts of the league's student-athletes, based upon significant community service, good academic standing and participation in their elected sport. The Spirit of Service award is presented three times throughout the season, with today's honorees representing Conference USA's spring sports: baseball, equestrian, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, softball, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's outdoor track and field.
Memphis' 2011 honoree is softball player Heather Mott. A native from Pensacola, Fla., Mott's star shone on and off the field in her brilliant career. A fifth-year senior in 2011, Mott was an All-Conference First-Team selection for her work in the field. She hit .353 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI, including a program record-tying 14-game hitting streak. She also finished her career as the school's all-time leader in triples with nine.
In her final campaign as a member of the blue-and-gray, Mott led the Tigers to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships, where they were ultimately eliminated by cross-state rival Chattanooga. In her final 26 games, Mott hit .422 with seven homers and 21 RBI.
As exemplary a ballplayer as Mott was for the Tigers, she may have been a better person off the field. At various times in her career, Mott volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the Memphis Boys and Girls Club, the Children's Museum of Memphis and the National Civil Rights Museum.
While at the NCAA Regional held on the campus of the University of Alabama, Mott and her teammates helped at the Tuscaloosa-area emergency services center following the tornado that hit the area.
In the classroom, Mott found the time to graduate with a degree in sport and exercise science in August 2010, finishing with a 3.46 GPA. She earned herself a spot on the 2011 C-USA All-Academic team, and was a three-time C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll honoree.
Mott is the first Memphis softball player selected as the University's spring Spirit of Service recipient. Men's track and field athlete Steffen Nerdal was the spring 2010 honoree, and Mott joins men's basketball player Will Coleman and football's Dominik Riley as U of M honoree's for the 2010-11 school year.
2011 SPRING C-USA SPIRIT OF SERVICE HONOREES:
Colleen Estes, East Carolina, Women's Golf
John Fortune, Houston, Men's Track & Field
Ashley Gue, Marshall, Softball
Heather Mott, Memphis, Softball
Farah Madanay, Rice, Women's Track & Field
Lauren Lieberman, SMU, Equestrian
Danielle LaPointe, Southern Miss, Softball
Ashley McKenney, Tulane, Women's Golf
Megan Melott, Tulsa, Women's Rowing
Nick Crawford, UAB, Baseball
Natalie Land, UCF, Softball
Courtney Ware, UTEP, Softball
